Absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, diapers, adult incontinence products, and the like are designed to be worn in close proximity to the crotch of the wearer. The crotch region of the human body is sensitive to the physical and chemical environment around the crotch.
A woman's crotch region can comprise many different types of tissues spaced apart from one another. For instance, a woman's pubic area can be covered with pubic hair on the medial portion and adjacent to the medial portions can be soft and smooth skin. The labia majora are generally aligned along the centerline of a woman's crotch. The skin adjacent the labia majora can be soft and smooth and may have emerging hair. The anus is surrounded by soft skin. Skin further away from the anus can differ in texture from skin immediately surrounding the anus. The surface of the skin in the anal region can be different from the surface of the skin in the pubic region.
Sanitary napkins commonly cover the labia, portions of the crotch forward of the labia, portions of the crotch rearward of the labia, and portions of the crotch laterally adjacent the labia. As a woman wearing a sanitary napkin moves, portions of the sanitary napkin can rub against nearby body surfaces. Given the complex geometry of a woman's crotch region and the dynamic geometry of a woman's crotch as she moves, different portions of the woman's crotch are exposed to different rubbing forces and the friction between the sanitary napkin and wearer's crotch can vary depending on the location.
The moisture and chemical environments of a woman's crotch can also vary as a function of location. For instance, the labia majora may be exposed to menses and/or urine. The medial portion of the woman's pubic area may be exposed to perspiration. Portions adjacent the medial area may be subjected to more moisture due to the lack of hair and the tendency for a woman's panty to closely conform to the juncture of the inner thigh and the crotch and pubic area. The area near the anus may be exposed to more perspiration and anal leakage than areas further away from the anus. Absorbent articles having regionalized fluid acquisition properties that are coordinated with the moisture environment of different regions of the crotch may be beneficial for providing improved health of the skin. Similar to a woman's crotch, the crotch region of male and female infants, adult males, and females beyond the age of menstruation can also have a wide variety of physical and chemical conditions in different locations of the crotch region.
Designers of absorbent articles are faced with the challenge of designing articles that provide for healthy skin in all regions of the wearer's crotch. In some instances, the benefit of providing for skin health in one region is obtained at the expense of decreased skin health in another region. Designs that apply a uniform approach across the entire absorbent article may not provide for satisfactory skin health and fluid acquisition throughout the entire crotch region. Furthermore, skin health and the feeling of wetness can impact how comfortable the absorbent article is to wear.
With these limitations in mind, there is a need for absorbent articles having a topsheet that provides different features that provide different skin health benefits to different portions of the wearer's crotch.